In many cases, the end of the year gives you time to step back and take stock of the last 12 months. This is when many of us take a hard look at what worked and what did not, complete performance reviews, and formulate plans for the coming year. For me, it is all of those things plus a time when I u...

CiscoMrs. Ulrica de-Fort Menares, Director of Product Management for Cisco Medianet, told us, "An intelligent network must become more application-savvy. It must have the ability to determine the importance of a session based on its business value, and treat the session accordingly, end to end. One of the key medianet characteristics is its ability to become media-aware. Imagine this: The network can discover the type of endpoint and automatically configure the switch port for that type of device. This ability to plug and play any endpoint in the network is an example of tight integration between an intelligent network and an endpoint."

CyberLock announced a new version of the CyberKey Vault 20, the CyberKey Vault 20 FX. The redesign features a sleek new look with weatherized input modules and an embedded Flex System Hub for improved performance, all offered at a new, lower price.

"The CyberKey Vault 20 FX is our most advanced key control cabinet (http://www.cyberlock.com/cyberkey-vaults.html) yet," said James McGowan, VP of Sales and Marketing at Videx. "We built on the award winning original design and added extra durability and speed to meet the needs of today's demanding end-users. We believe it will surpass market expectations."

The Vault 20 FX is an intelligent key cabinet designed to manage, program, and dispense CyberKey smart keys. The keys are stored unprogrammed and locked securely in the cabinet until an RFID card and/or PIN code is presented to the cabinet. After reading the card and/or accepting the PIN, the CyberKey Vault programs a CyberKey with the individual's permissions. Keys are programmed with access privileges for each user, detailing which electronic locks (http://www.cyberlock.com/cyberlock_cylinders.html) it can open and when. An audit record of all events is stored in both the locks and the keys. Each time a key is used at a lock, a record of the lock ID, date, and time is stored in the key, and a record of the key ID, date, and time is stored in the lock.

CyberKeys feature a unique electronic ID, preventing duplication. Although two keys can be programmed alike, each one leaves its own unique record within the system. When the key is returned to the Vault, the Vault downloads the key's audit trail, removes its permissions, and begins charging the key.

ImageWare Systems recently announced, "In addition to product development, ImageWare has been preparing for a major international deployment as the exclusive provider of biometric identity management for a prime contractor installing cargo scanning security at the Republic of Ecuador's major seaports. The initial deployment is currently scheduled to begin in the early part of 2013 at the Port of Guayaquil, the country's main seaport that handles a majority of its imports and exports. ImageWare expects to receive a fee for every port worker receiving credentials, as well as an annual management and maintenance fee, based on a percentage of the initial credentialing cost per worker. Depending upon the number of enrollees, the company expects the contract value to exceed $3.0 million over its seven year term."

"The high-end biometric secure credentialing solution we are providing for Ecuador is the same technology being deployed for the Los Angeles World Airports, which we announced earlier this year," noted Jim Miller, Chairman and CEO. "In fact, we can easily replicate this platform for virtually any port system that needs transportation worker identification cards in order to comply with the SAFE Port Act. Not only are our solutions easily deployable, for ImageWare they generally represent gross margins above 70% as well as a recurring revenue stream. Our unique patented technology has the potential to provide us strong, steady revenue growth, along with excellent forward-looking visibility."

These new distribution partners are now authorized to offer their customers Wave's innovative solutions for data protection, data loss prevention, authentication, security compliance and malware protection.

"Today's cyber threats call for a unique and innovative approach, and one that builds on industry-standard hardware built directly into the endpoint. We're putting Wave's technology into the hands of top regional distributors whose relationships and trained service professionals offer a fast path to deployment," said Brian Berger, Wave's Executive Vice President of Business Development and Chief Marketing Officer. "Infodat is well-anchored in the Indian market and has earned the trust of its extensive client base. TechSearch is the trusted partner for Korea's IT industry; and Bangkok Systems & Software provides seasoned professionals on the ground in Thailand."

Under the terms of the agreements, Wave's distribution partners will offer both products and professional services. The distributors will offer Wave's EMBASSY® (http://www.wave.com/products) security software for managing hardware-based data protection and authentication, as well as the full Safend (http://www.wave.com/products) portfolio of products. Infodat Technologies has built a strong reputation in India and globally, providing technology services and business solutions for more than 16 years to help its clients innovate, automate information and optimize costs.

Providing Scholarships for First Responders: The 2013 SIA Ride for Education

The SIA Ride for Education will be held on Saturday, April 13, 2013. The event raises money for the SIA First Responders Scholarship, which provides awards of $1,000 to law enforcement officers and firefighters for job-related education and training -- opportunities for which funding might not otherwise be available because of budget cuts.

The ride will start at Las Vegas Harley-Davidson at 9:00 a.m. and will include visits to some of the most scenic sites in Nevada. The cost is $40 per person ($30 if riding as a passenger). Law enforcement officers, firefighters and military personnel may participate at no charge.

All registrants will receive a specially designed "2013 SIA Ride for Education" shirt. Lunch will be provided.

Participants who are not bringing their own motorcycles to the event may contact Las Vegas Harley-Davidson to reserve a bike at the special discounted rate of $125. Availability is limited, so reservations should be made as soon as possible by calling (888) 218-0744, or by visiting the store's rentals page (https://websolutions.tsd-inc.com/Harley-Davidson/frmRateQuote.aspx?PickupLoc=79315). To receive the reduced rate, mention the "SIA group" if reserving by phone, or enter "SIA group" in the Special Requests field if reserving online. We also welcome participants in sports cars and other vehicles. (The same registration rates apply.)

For more information, contact Ron Hawkins, SIA's manager of technical writing and special projects, at (301) 804-4713 or rhawkins@siaonline.org.

SecurityStockWatch.com: What is Security Dealer Marketing's main focus?
Bill Bozeman: Security Dealer Marketing (SDM) focuses on creating brand awareness for and educating dealers and manufacturers on how marketing tools work, from collateral production to strategy deployment, to generate more recurring monthly revenue. They focus on generating results and creating services that work specifically for the security community.

SecurityStockWatch.com: What types of managed services are included with Security Dealer Marketing?
Bill Bozeman: They can help with any marketing questions or needs, from traditional design/print services to targeted online campaigns to comprehensive marketing strategy overhaul or development. Security Dealer Marketing works with many types of semi-custom website development packages, including Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Pay-Per-Click (PPC) and Google Analytics services. They also offer marketing support for point of sale materials, logo design or redesign, email marketing, social media campaigns and press releases.

SecurityStockWatch.com: How can Security Dealer Marketing help companies better their business?
Bill Bozeman: Security Dealer Marketing can handle the logistics and details of your marketing programs, allowing you to focus on other areas of your business. With years of expertise in security marketing, they eliminate the guesswork. SDM has spent the last 15 years working with numerous large domestic brands, and they will take that experience and use it to guide your company to get greater return on investment. They work with a number of PSA integrators and partners and we've been pleased with the partnership, service and results.

Join the Ascent to EMV and Smart Mobile PaymentsOver 500 executive delegates came together last February in Salt Lake City for Payments Summit -- the industry's leading forum for smart, secure payment technology, implementation, and markets. For 2013, we're building on that success with a larger meeting facility and an up-to-the minute conference agenda. And we're continuing our coverage of every leading transaction platform: EMV card payments, mobile payments, and transit payments. Reserve your seat now at this gathering of leading smart card practitioners, solutions developers, end users, and suppliers.

The US is the world's largest payments ecosystem and the migration to EMV -- the global transaction security standard -- has now begun in earnest. Yet, for many banks, credit unions, issuers and merchants there's still a frustrating lack of clarity. At the same time, NFC-enabled payments are starting to take shape as card networks, telecoms and handset manufacturers target the market with mobile wallet solutions. But no ubiquitous model for all merchants and issuers has emerged. Finally, transit ridership is considered by many to be the "killer app" in expanding the use of open standards-based contactless bank card and mobile payments, and major transit operators have launched pilots nationwide.

Considerable work remains to clear a path for this migration. Payments Summit is the place to consult the trailblazers and plan your own journey.

"We started a Master of Science in business analytics - that's the hot topic. We serve the business community around San Francisco so we educate the working professionals and this is where they all want to be," explained Judy Lee, Associate Professor and Department Chair at Golden Gate...

There is a huge demand for responsive, real-time mobile and web experiences, but current architectural patterns do not easily accommodate applications that respond to events in real time. Common solutions using message queues or HTTP long-polling quickly lead to resiliency, scalability...

We call it DevOps but much of the time there’s a lot more discussion about the needs and concerns of developers than there is about other groups. There’s a focus on improved and less isolated developer workflows. There are many discussions around collaboration, continuous integration a...

The dynamic nature of the cloud means that change is a constant when it comes to modern cloud-based infrastructure. Delivering modern applications to end users, therefore, is a constantly shifting challenge. Delivery automation helps IT Ops teams ensure that apps are providing an optim...

Modern software design has fundamentally changed how we manage applications, causing many to turn to containers as the new virtual machine for resource management. As container adoption grows beyond stateless applications to stateful workloads, the need for persistent storage is founda...

"CA has been doing a lot of things in the area of DevOps. Now we have a complete set of tool sets in order to enable customers to go all the way from planning to development to testing down to release into the operations," explained Aruna Ravichandran, Vice President of Global Marketin...